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BooK V. Royal Commentaries.
C ·HA P. xxu.
The lnc~ ·Viraco,cha gives Ord~r for _B,uildi~g a Temple
in Memory o[ ·his Vncle, who appeared to .him m a
Vifion...
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T H E Inca Viracocha, that he might th tter perpetuare th@ Mem(!)ry' of his
Dream, aqd keep i:he Honour of it l.lP in the eíl:eern of the people, com-–
manded that a Temple ih.©uld be. ereéted in Honpur ofhis Uncle, who appeared
to him, ·and .placed in the Coumrey called (;acha, w1iich is.about foneenLeagues
diíl:ant from the City to the Southward: He ordered, thac--tlué'Fabrick and Mo–
del of it íh0uld, as near as could be poffible, imitare, ór refell)ble th~ place where
the Vifion preíented·it felf; which was like the open Field, Jvithout covering ;
joining unto which there wa"s to be a litdé-Chapel with tlfe roof of-Scone, refem-,-\
bling the hbllow of the Rock, under wliich he repofed hirnfelf: The whole Fa–
brick was made of Stone rarely poliíhed, as are all the Buildi!'lgs of thé lndians ;
it had four Doors correfponding to the· four Qiarters of the Heavens; three óf
them were íhllt, being rather Porcals, than Gates, ferving for Ornament more'.
than Ufe. The Gate which looked Eaíl:ward, was that alone by which they en-__
tred, and by which they went out; being placed exaétly in the middle t and be-•
caufe rhe Indians were _not ai:rived to fuch Excellency in :Architelture.~as to lay'
the weight of tbeir Building ón Arched Work ; they íupplied that defelt by
firong and d undations of Stone Walls, which were more laíl:ing than Tim- ·
ber, and for purable. Thefe Walls were laid three Foot in thicknefs, and
feven 'Foot diíl:ant each from the orher,, making twelve feveral Rows, or Iíles;
the top was not covered with Boards, but pa.ved Stofle, for abouc ten Foot in
lengrh, and half a Yard in thicknefs: At the Entrance to this Templ~; turning
to che right hand, they walked to die end ·of che firíl: Hle ; thence t to tbe
left, they w~nt forward to the end of thiS' Walk, and then faced again to.th~right,
and fo winding abouc again through th ows; tbey carne at length to che
end of the twelfth Iíle, w.here was a Stair-ca.fe, by which they afcended to the
top of the Temple. At the f ront of every Iíle, on each hand, there-was a W in–
dow, like a Port-hole, to let in the light; and below every Wind011/, theFe was
a Nich made -in the Wall for.a·feat, where die Pórcer míght'fü, wichouc incum..;
bring, or fropping, che paífage. The Stair-cafe had two paífages, one to go up,
and che other to come dovJn ; that to go ·up fronted a top with the High Altar :
The Floor above was paved wich a kind of black Marble, rarely poliíhed, thac
it looked lik~ Jett, brought from fome Qg_avry, •far diíl:anr. In place of the High
Altar chere was a Chapel of about· twelve Foot fquare, covered with the fame·
fort of black Stone, in-laid'in divers Figures, in form of Mofaick Work, which
was che moíl: excellent piece of Art in the whole Fabrick : Wichin chis Chapel
was the Image of the Apparition placed within the hollow of the VIali , as in a
Tabernacle, wich wbich cwo other Tabernacles were made to correfpond on each
fide for ornament and better uniformity. The Walls of this Temple, from the
top to the bottom, were bue chree Yards in height, withouc anyWindow, the!
Corniíh of which on all fides, both within and wichom: was made of poliOied
Stone ; and within the Tabernacle of the Chapel was placed a Pedeíl:al, onwhich
an Image of Stone was erelted, rept:efenting che Image of che Appari~ion, in
füch íhape and figure a·s the Inca Viracocha had direlted. This Image reprefenred
the figure of a Man, with a Beard of about a [pan long, his Cloaths reaching to
his wide, but fomething fcanty, like a Caffock : Abom his Neck
a íl: creature was chained, wich Claws like a Lion , che Image hold–
ing e of che \inks of che Chain in his hand ; al\ which was framed and engra–
ven out of Stone: And leíl: che Workmen, who had never feen this Figure,. z ili~d